Kansas City Priest Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Child Porn

Shawn Ratigan was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Thursday on federal child pornography charges for taking sexually explicit photos of several young girls.

A Kansas City Catholic priest was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Thursday on federal child pornography charges for taking sexually explicit photos of several young girls, including a 2-year-old.

Shawn Ratigan, 47, pleaded guilty in August 2012 to four counts of producing child pornography and one count of attempting to produce child pornography.

"Society needs to be protected from you," U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner told Ratigan before he pronounced the sentence. "You did this to yourself."

Prosecutors had sought the 50-year sentence, which they had said would amount to a life term, after it was discovered that he had taken hundreds of lewd photographs of young girls.

Ratigan, who was shackled and wore an orange jail jumpsuit, had pleaded with the judge to sentence him to 15 years in prison, the shortest term possible.

"There are no words that I can express to tell you my sorrow, but it's there," Ratigan told the judge. "I just couldn't help it."

"I know that God has forgiven me, my soul is in good shape," Ratigan said.

Prosecutors said Ratigan focused on girls from 2 to 12 years old and had committed multiple crimes over six years. Several counts were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

The mother of a 2-year-old girl who Ratigan was convicted of abusing, told the judge the priest should be put away for the full term because his actions had taken a lasting toll on the girl, her family and rocked their faith in the church.

"Our baby, our little girl, has suffered," said the woman, who was not identified in court. "There are monsters everywhere."

Ratigan had been known by members of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph as a fun-loving priest who had a special fondness for recording children's parties and events with his camera. His arrest in May 2011 rocked the community.

advertisement

Outrage grew when evidence uncovered in the case revealed that Bishop Robert Finn and other diocese officials became aware of Ratigan's actions in December 2010 after photos were found on his laptop computer while it was being repaired, but did not notify authorities until May 2011.

Church officials ordered Ratigan to undergo psychological counseling and stay away from children instead of turning him in immediately. During that period, Ratigan continued to engage in activities with children and take more pornographic pictures.

Finn was charged with failing to report Ratigan to authorities, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. Catholic official to face criminal charges in connection with a sexual abuse case involving a priest.

Finn was found guilty in September 2012 of one misdemeanor count and sentenced to two years probation.

More than two dozen civil lawsuits have been filed by victims of Ratigan naming the priest, the Kansas City diocese and/or Finn as defendants.

"The victims are going to find closure in this sentence," said Rebecca Randles, an attorney who represents most of the plaintiffs in the cases.

Evidence showed Ratigan's photos included close-up pictures of the children's genitals. One child was photographed without pants next to a stained glass window in the choir loft of a church where Ratigan served as pastor, according to court documents.

Some photos were taken "in trusted environments under the noses of the victims' parents," prosecutors said in a report justifying their request for a 50-year sentence.

Your Turn

Please be considerate and respectful of your fellow posters. If Jesus and your mother would not approve of your writing, you should revise your comment before submitting.

Use standard writing style and punctuation. Complete sentences and proper grammar will help others understand you.

Do not use profanity, obscenities, abusive language or otherwise objectionable content (as determined by Charisma Media moderators, in their sole discretion). Comments should not harass, abuse or threaten another's personal safety or property, make false statements, defame or impersonate someone else.

Do not question others' faith just because you disagree with them. It adds nothing to the discussion and only causes strife.

Do not question why someone comes to this website just because they disagree with you or the content of the article.

Do not post personal information including phone numbers, email or mailing addresses, or credit card information belonging to you or others.

Do not include copyrighted content or other intellectual property that you do not own or have the explicit rights or lisenses to distribute.

Do not post, directly or through links, viruses, misleading, malicious or off-topic content.

Please consider the following statements pertaining to comments posted by you and other visitors to our website:

Appearance of comments, advertisements or hyperlinks made by other commenters on this site do not necessarily indicate or constitute acceptance of or endorsement of the products, companies, corporations, ministries, organizations or agencies in whole or in part by staff members and/or the members of the editorial board of Charisma Media.

Comments are not pre-screened before they post. Charisma Media reserves the right to modify or remove any comment that does not comply with the above guidelines and to deny access of your Disqus account to make additional comments to the website without any notice. If you have been denied access to comment due to a violation of these terms please do not create multiple accounts in an attempt to circumvent the system. The correct course of action is to request a review of your account status by contacting webmaster@charismamedia.com.

Charisma Media is not responsible or liable in any way for comments posted by its users.

If you believe a comment is in violation of the above guidelines, U.S. law or International treaties, or is legitimate "trolling" please flag the post or contact webmaster@charismamedia.com. Include a link to the comment, along with a statement explaining what you believe the violation is and any evidence backing your claim. Charisma Media moderators will consider your request and decide on the most appropriate action.

Protecting your privacy is very important to us. We will not rent, sell, or trade your e-mail address to any person or entity for any purpose. However, by subscribing you agree to receive occasional special offers on behalf of our advertising partners (they will not have access to any of your personal information). You can opt out of these third-party marketing emails at any time without affecting your newsletter subscription.